ZOOLOGIA 32 (2): 171–175, April 2015http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702015000200009

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The sighting and stranding data suggest that Bryde’swhales, Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1879 occur regularly alongthe coast off the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, south-eastern Brazil (ZERBINI et al. 1997, SICILIANO et al. 2004, GONÇALVES

& ANDRIOLO 2006, MOURA & SICILIANO 2012, FIGUEIREDO et al. 2014).Sightings of this species are recorded mainly in austral sum-mer and autumn, but strandings are recorded throughout theyear (ZERBINI et al. 1997, SICILIANO et al. 2004, MOURA & SICILIANO

2012), supporting the idea that B. edeni is common in south-eastern Brazil. However, abundance estimates, spatial distribu-tion, ecology, behavior, movement patterns, mating andcalving grounds of Bryde’s whales in these coastal waters arepoorly known.

Photo-identification (photo-ID) is a well-established tech-nique in aquatic mammal research. The use of natural mark-ings to identify individuals to be monitored in photographicsighting and resighting is the standard approach for address-ing questions of movements and site fidelity, among others

(WÜRSIG & JEFFERSON 1990). The Bryde’s whale has been the sub-ject of several studies employing the photo-ID technique inMexico (TERSHY et al. 1990), New Zealand (THOMPSON et al. 2002),Azores (STEINER et al. 2008), South Africa (G.S. Penry, unpubl.data), Thailand (THONGSUKDEE et al. 2014), and the Cabo Frioregion, Brazil (FIGUEIREDO et al. 2014).

The aim of this study was to: 1) photo-identify individualBryde’s whales during austral summer and autumn months incoastal waters off Rio de Janeiro, 2) describe the movements ofphoto-identified individuals to the Cabo Frio region, one of thecore areas of the species in southeastern Brazil (FIGUEIREDO et al.2014), and 3) investigate their occurrence and behavior in thestudy area. In addition, the information presented in this studyprovides baseline data for the establishment of a managementplan of the Monumento Natural do Arquipélago das IlhasCagarras – MoNa Cagarras (Federal Law #12229, April 13, 2010)– a marine protected area that includes the Cagarras, Palmas,Comprida, and Redonda islands. Thus, the information pre-

SHORT COMMUNICATION

Bryde’s whale (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) occurrence andmovements in coastal areas of southeastern Brazil

Liliane Lodi1,4, Rodrigo H. Tardin1,2, Bia Hetzel1, Israel S. Maciel2,Luciana D. Figueiredo2,3 & Sheila M. Simão2

1Projeto Ilhas do Rio, Instituto Mar Adentro. Rua Siqueira Campos 33, 504, Copacabana, 22031-071 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.2Laboratório de Bioacústica e Ecologia de Cetáceos, Instituto de Florestas, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro.Rodovia BR465, km 7, Campus Universitário, 23890-970 Seropédica, RJ, Brazil.3Instituto Federal de Educação Ciência e Tecnologia do Rio de Janeiro. Rua Lucio Tavares 1045, Nilópolis, 26530-060 Rio deJaneiro RJ, Brazil.4Corresponding author. E-mail: lilianelodi@gmail.com

ABSTRACT. Bryde’s whales, Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1879, were observed on 17 occasions (N = 21 surveys) in the

coastal waters off Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil during austral summer through autumn 2014. Five whales were

individually identified using photo-identification techniques. The mean interval between resightings for all individuals

was 12.8 days, with a minimum of one day and a maximum of 48 days. The comparison between the catalogs of

Bryde’s whales off Rio de Janeiro and the Cabo Frio region revealed matches for three individuals. The resightings show

movements of up to 149.6 km along the coastal waters off the state of Rio de Janeiro. Most of the observations

consisted of solitary individuals (82.3% of sightings). Feeding was the predominant behavior observed (47%), followed

by milling (35.3%) and travelling (17.6%) in waters up to 48 m deep. Direct observations resulted in the addition of

new prey, such as snubnose anchovy, Anchoviella brevirostris (Günther, 1868) and white snake mackerel, Thyrsitops

lepidopoides (Cuvier, 1832), to the known diet of the Bryde’s whale. A long time series of photo-identification efforts in

the Rio de Janeiro, the Cabo Frio region and other areas can elucidate fundamental aspects of spatial and temporal site

fidelity knowledge of Bryde’s whales in southeastern Brazil.

KEY WORDS. Balaenoptera edeni; displacements; individual identification; surface activities.

172 L. Lodi et al.

ZOOLOGIA 32 (2): 171–175, April 2015

sented herein can also be used to help plan and implement ap-propriate governmental management actions, as well as to miti-gate the impacts of anthropogenic activities on the species. Oneof the goals of the Brazilian National Action Plan for the Con-servation of Large Cetaceans (ROCHA-CAMPOS & CÂMARA 2011) isto investigate the distribution patterns and to define the prior-ity and critical areas for Bryde’s whale conservation in Brazil.

Our study comprised Rio de Janeiro coastal waters(22°59’1”S, 43°3’39”W – 22°59’44”S, 43°13’42”W). Surveys wereconducted from a 10 m diesel trawler under favorable environ-mental conditions (Beaufort sea state � 2) and followed threepre-established routes that randomly alternated on each sur-vey day.

The study area was divided into 96 grids of 2 x 2 km2. Eachtime a whale was sighted, a focal animal procedure (LEHNER 1996)was adopted and a GPS location was taken every 300 m follow-ing the movement of the whale. All the sightings were interpo-lated to produce an encounter rate map using ArcGIS 10.0®. Theencounter rate was defined as the number of sightings in a givengrid/number of routes that sampled the same grid. Informationon depth was obtained from Nautical Chart #1501 (Directorateof Hydrography and Navigation of the Brazilian Navy).

The definitions of behavioral states were adapted fromTHOMPSON et al. (2002): 1) travelling – moving with directional-ity; 2) milling – making random movements without clear di-rection while remaining in the same area, which could also beconsidered foraging behavior prior to feeding; and 3) feeding– moving around schools of small pelagic fish. To enhance therecording of feeding behavior, categories of body orientationsrelative to the sea surface for surface lunge-feeding behaviors,when a whale exposes the mouth and head above the water,were used following the terminology adopted from KOT et al.(2014). Loose aggregations were considered when two or morewhales gathered at the same area but without evidence of thesame behavior, internal organization and swimming pattern(adapted from WILSON 1975).

The photographs of individual whales were taken with adigital camera with a 75-300 mm lens. Individuals were identi-fied based on the presence of nicks and scars on their dorsalfin (e.g., TERSHY et al. 1990). The best photograph of each indi-

vidual (i.e., dorsal fin in focus and perpendicular to the cam-era) was included in the catalog. The photos taken at each sight-ing were compared with the photographs taken of previouslyidentified individuals. An independent reviewer was used toconfirm photo matches. Identified individuals in the coastalwaters off Rio de Janeiro were compared with the Bryde’s whalecatalog of Cabo Frio region coast (22°50’21”S, 41°54’37”W –23°00’18”S, 42°05’53”W), northern Rio de Janeiro state, elabo-rated on 2011, 2012 and 2014, by the Laboratório de Bioacústicae Ecologia de Cetáceos/Universidade Federal Rural do Rio deJaneiro (LBEC/UFRRJ).

Surveys (N = 21) were conducted between 22 Januaryand 31 May 2014. Bryde’s whales were observed during 81%(N = 17) of the survey days and 12.5% of the total hours ofeffort. The sampling effort and sighting data are shown in Table1. Figure 1 shows the number of routes by grids. Area coveragewas not homogeneous during the surveys.

The mean bottom depth where Bryde’s whales were en-countered was 25.7 m (± s.d. 8.3 m, range = 10-48 m). Highencounter rates occurred off Copacabana Beach, Cagarra is-land adjacencies and close to Rasa island (Fig. 2).

Whales were identified in 15 sightings (88.2%, N = 17),and five individuals (N = 22) were distinctive enough to beindividually identified (Table 2). The mean interval betweenresightings for all individuals was 12.8 days, with a minimumof one day and a maximum of 48 days. Three matches weremade during comparisons between the Rio de Janeiro and CaboFrio region catalogues (Table 2). The minimum and maximumdistances between these matches were approximately 121.5 kmand 149.6 km, respectively.

One individual (RJB001) was photographed opportunis-tically at the entrance of Guanabara Bay on 26 November 2006and was resighted in 2012 and 2014 off Rio de Janeiro coastand in 2011 and 2012 in the Cabo Frio region (Table 2). WhaleRJB002 (ArCaB004) was sighted off Rio de Janeiro on 15 Febru-ary 2014 (Fig. 3) and 5 days later in the Cabo Frio region (Fig.4), a distance of 133.3 km. The waters off Rio de Janeiro weresurveyed on 21 February, 12 March, and 14 March, and thiswhale was not encountered, but it was photographed againduring the 21 March survey (29 days later).

Table 1. Sampling effort and sighting data of Bryde’s whale, Balaenoptera edeni, off Rio de Janeiro coast from January through May 2014.(h) Hours, (km) kilometers.

Survey effort Sightings

Month # of surveys Search effort (h km) Direct observation (h) # of sightings # of individuals* Monthly encounter rate

January 3 22.08 181.4 – – – 0.0

February 5 36.00 250.5 7.97 7 7 1.4

March 4 31.25 267.7 7.05 5 9 1.2

April 5 34.17 312.5 4.35 5 6 1.0

May 4 31.00 273.3 – – – 0.0

Total 21 154.50 1,285.4 19.37 17 22

*Including repeated encounters.

173Bryde’s whale occurrence and movements in coastal areas of southeastern Brazil

ZOOLOGIA 32 (2): 171–175, April 2015

Bryde’s whales were most frequently observed alone (N= 14, 82.3%). An adult small calf (ca. 4 m) pair, whose adultindividual was identified by natural marks (N = 1, 5.9%), andloose aggregations of two to four adult individuals (includingthe same adult-calf pair, typically swimming close together)were observed (N = 2, 11.8%).

Feeding was the most often observed activity (47%, N =8), followed by milling (35.3%, N = 6), and travelling (17.6%,N = 3). During the feeding activities, B. edeni were observedwithin 3.95 km (1.87 km ± s.d. 1.1 km) of the shoreline. Dur-ing two feeding events, solitary Bryde’s whales were also ob-served exhaling bubbles while slowly swimming just under thewater surface. The presence of feeding flocks of seabirds wasalso recorded, including brown boobies, Sula leucogaster(Boddaert, 1783); magnificent frigate birds, Fregata magnificensMathews, 1914; Cabot’s terns, Thalasseus acuflavidus; and/orSouth American terns, Sterna hirundinacea Lesson, 1831.

Samples of prey and photographs of small fishes jump-ing at the water surface were obtained during six occasionswhen the feeding by Bryde’s whales was recorded. The Bryde’swhales were observed to prey on small schooling fish, such as

Figures 1-2. (1) Study area is delimitated by 2 x 2 km2 grids and shows the number of routes. (2) Bryde’s whale, Balaenoptera edeni,encounter rates in the coastal waters off Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. Continuous lines indicate bathymetric stripes.

1 2

Table 2. Sightings and resightings of photo-identified Bryde’swhale, Balaenoptera edeni, in coastal waters off Rio de Janeiro andCabo Frio region.

IDSightings Resightings

Rio de Janeiro Cabo Frio Rio de Janeiro Cabo Frio

RJB001ArCaB002*

01-19-11* 12-20-12*02-04-1402-07-1403-27-1404-11-14

03-25-12*

RJB002ArCaB004*

04-20-11* 02-13-1402-15-1403-21-1403-27-1404-03-14

04-21-11*03-25-12

05-08-12*02-20-1405-08-14

RJB003 03-12-14 03-21-14

RJB004 03-14-14 03-21-14?

RJB005ArCaB013

04-03-14 04-13-14 05-07-1405-08-14

*Figueiredo et al. (2014), Whale observed with a calf.

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ZOOLOGIA 32 (2): 171–175, April 2015

the snubnose anchovy, Anchoviella brevirostris (Günther, 1868)(N = 4); the white snake mackerel, Thyrsitops lepidopoides(Cuvier, 1832) (N = 1); and a mixed school of Brazilian sar-dines, Sardinella brasiliensis (Steindachner, 1879) and mullet(Mugilidae) or mojarra (Gerreidae) (N = 1).

Although the number of individuals identified andresighted is low, the results suggest that some Bryde’s whalesare using the coastal waters off Rio de Janeiro and in the CaboFrio region. Whale RJB001, who was photographed at the en-trance to Guanabara Bay in November 2006, was resighted sixyears later on five different occasions in the coastal waters offRio de Janeiro and twice in the Cabo Frio region. The intervalsbetween resightings indicate Bryde’s whales may stay in anarea for several days and return to it after months or years; thissuggests site fidelity, at least for some individuals, as reportedfor South African inshore Bryde’s whales (G.S. Penry, unpubl.data).

Prey abundance and availability affect the behavior, sea-sonality and abundance of Bryde’s whales in coastal waters (e.g.,TERSHY 1992, PENRY et al. 2011, THONGSUKDEE et al. 2014). Sight-ing records of B. edeni off Rio de Janeiro and in the Cabo Frioregion suggest that Bryde’s whales are possibly following themovements of pelagic fish schools. In southeastern Brazil, dur-ing late spring, summer (CERGOLE et al. 2005) and fall (PAIVA &MOTTA 2000), Brazilian sardines approach the coast to spawnin shallower waters. In Brazil, Brazilian sardines (SICILIANO et al.2004), Engraulidae fish (LIMA et al. 2006) and aviu shrimp, Acetesamericanus Ortmann, 1893 (MOURA & SICILIANO 2012) seem tobe important in the diet of Bryde’s whales. In our study, weadd new prey items (e.g., snubnose anchovy and white snakemackerel) to the known diet of the Bryde’s whale.

The data we gathered constitute one of the first attemptsto identify individual B. edeni in the Southwest Atlantic, al-lowing for an assessment of Bryde’s whale movements in coastalwaters off southeastern Brazil. We provide the first informa-tion on Bryde’s whales sighting history and habitat use aroundMoNa Cagarras, which contributes to the baseline data in the

elaboration of the management plan for this marine protectedarea. One sighting was made within the limits of the MoNaCagarras (in the vicinity of Palmas island), which includes aradius of 10 m of marine waters around each island of the ar-chipelago. Therefore a spatial analysis of Bryde’s whale occur-rence is especially important for the demarcation of a bufferzone. A buffer zone in the case of the MoNa Cagarras wouldprovide an additional layer of protection, fundamental forachieving its conservation, in light of the close geographicalproximity of this protected area to a metropolis such as city ofRio de Janeiro, with all pressures of urban development.

Sightings made near the entrance of Guanabara Bay, azone with heavy ship traffic due to the Port of Rio de Janeiro,as well sightings in the gillnet fishing areas of the artisanalfishing community of Copacabana, called Colônia de Pesca deCopacabana, Z-13 (MORAES et al. 2013), suggest that an educa-tional and public awareness program should be developed fo-cusing on the conservation of Bryde’s whales in waters off Riode Janeiro.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Guilherme Marcondes and CassianoMonteiro-Neto for identifying the fish species and AlexandreSerrano who kindly provided the photograph of whale RBJ001from November 2006. The results of this study are part of ProjetoIlhas do Rio, performed by Instituto Mar Adentro and spon-sored by Petrobras. The Cabo Frio region data were sponsoredby Fundação Grupo Boticário de Proteção à Natureza (Grant201320118) and Conselho Nacional de DesenvolvimentoCientífico e Tecnológico (Grant 479348/2010-3). Rodrigo H.Tardin received a scholarship from Fundação Carlos Chagas Filhode Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Process E-26/100.866/2011) and Israel S. Maciel from Coordenação deAperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. Dagmar Fertl andthree anonymous reviewers provided valuable suggestions tothe original manuscript.

Figures 3-4. Nicks and notches on Bryde’s whale dorsal fin. Pictures are from the same individual (RJB002 – ArCaB004). CopacabanaBeach, Rio de Janeiro (3) and Cabo Frio region on February 2014 (4).

3 4

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ZOOLOGIA 32 (2): 171–175, April 2015

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Submitted: 9 February 2015Received in revised form: 2 April 2015Accepted: 12 April 2015Editorial responsibility: Paulo da Cunha Lana